PETALING JAYA: Former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik marched into the All-England men’s doubles quarter-finals to keep their title hopes alive on Thursday (March 5) in Birmingham.
The victory, however, did not come easy for Aaron-Wooi Yik.
They battled for 63 minutes to beat teammates Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King 21-15, 18-21, 21-18 in the second round.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the last eight, thus assuring Malaysia a place in the semi-finals.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun needed only 33 minutes to dispatch Taiwan’s Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Wang Chi-lin 21-14, 21-18.
Said Kai Wun: “Our opponents tried to disrupt our rhythm but we stayed solid.”
Added Wei Chong, who is recovering from an injury: “I’m just trying to enjoy the game as we want to do well in this big tournament.”
The challenge is over for professionals Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who fell 21-23, 16-21 to Indonesia’s Rian Ardianto-Rahmat Hidayat in the last 16.
The gallant run of world junior champions Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai also ended after they went down fighting 19-21, 17-21 to China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi.
